Mid-summer Book Report

We are just past halfway through my summer reading period (as determined by the time from when I created my summer book list to Labor Day) and I wanted to give an update on how I’m doing. In total I’ve read 8 books, and am working my way through number 9. Not quite half of my list, but considering I’m hold #101 on 33 copies of Lean In at the library, I don’t even have a chance of getting to some of these for many months.

Here’s what I’ve read so far:

Gone Girl – I was hooked. Definitely a page turner, and probably not the best book to bring to Paris because I wanted to just sit and read it. It dragged on a little long, and the ending was a bit unsatisfying for my tastes, but overall I highly recommend it. Would be a great beach read.

Prosperous Friends – I didn’t really care for this one. It seemed almost like the author was trying too hard to be vague. Supposedly about the factors that cause a young marriage to fall apart…but mostly about selfishness.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home - I hadn’t heard of this book before and am very glad this project gave me a chance to read it. A story of navigating family relationships within the context of the bigger world, told from the preteen point of view in the 1980s.

The Fault in Our Stars – Wow. This book really stuck with me. Put simply, it’s about kids with cancer and learning to live while facing death. It was no sappy Lurlene McDaniel novel, though, and became even more impactful as I thought about it for days after finishing it.

Beautiful Ruins – This wasn’t one of my favorites. It was entertaining enough, but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. I had read a book with a similar flashback structure, time period and setting just before it, which may have affected my enjoyment of this one.

The Dinner – Takes place largely over the course of one evening, and left me feeling kind of chilled at the end. Good writing, but the characters of this one weren’t very redeeming, either. I just finished it, so still processing exactly how I feel about it. Probably would be a good beachside page-turner.

Those who Save Us – This was a book someone had loaned to me a while ago, so I put it on the list to finally read it. It traced the lives of a daughter in 1990s Minnesota and her mother in 1940s Germany. An enjoyable read, but it dragged on about 50 pages too long.

So that’s where I am. Now I’m reading Paris in Love, with Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore on its way to me from the library. I’ll be back in September with a final report — happy reading :)

It did take me a little while to get into it. But I think overall what I ended up really liking was the writing — specifically, that the characters (for the most part) felt honestly portrayed. I find that often parents (especially when they are somewhat tangential to the main narrative), and also young teens, can come off as a bit stereotyped, but these characters largely seemed real and nuanced. Does that make sense? And thanks for stopping by :)

That definitely makes sense. I think the plot really caught me off guard, but I did like the characters. I just wasn’t attached enough to the older sister to really care when she was really struggling with the grief. I was more attached to the uncle’s plot line and the relationship between the younger sister and the uncle’s boyfriend.